Our daycare is having a book fair this week. The center put out a box asking for donations for books for the center and a list on each room's door of what books they would like you to buy for them.
That just rubs me the wrong way.
Our daycare is having a book fair this week. The center put out a box asking for donations for books for the center and a list on each room's door of what books they would like you to buy for them.
That just rubs me the wrong way.
grapefruit / 4545 posts
Ours does a book fair but they do not ask for donations. They just suggest books the teachers think are best for your child...The center receives 50% of the total sales of the book fair in free books. I'm ok with the concept!
hostess / wonderful watermelon / 39513 posts
Sometimes! They have a section on their monthly newsletter for "help needed" and items that they want. For Nov they are looking for large Thanksgiving themed stickers and empty milk cartons.
wonderful clementine / 24134 posts
Yea thats kinda lame. The school should provide the resources for the classroom. But I understand them running the book fair so they get the discount.
nectarine / 2173 posts
That's kind of weird.
Ours had a work party recently to help expand the playground. But I figure them saving money on that saves me money.
But they otherwise don't ask for donations.
GOLD / eggplant / 11517 posts
Ours did it for the book far, but LOs classroom never filled out the request, so I didn't get any books for the room. I would have though, just as a gift. I feel you on not loving the idea of them asking for specific things (they provide a list at the holidays for what each teacher likes/dislikes and that bugs me. )
pomelo / 5573 posts
Ours does fundraisers (right now they're doing a poinsettia sale, and once a month they sell coffee and muffins in the morning) and I think the money goes to the centre, but I feel like that's different. I would be pretty annoyed if on top of the already high rates they're charging they were asking me to donate stuff.
apricot / 343 posts
Ours asks for donations and volunteering. They actually have a "requirement" of 20 hours of volunteer time (or the equivalent in donations.) It annoys me, but I do like that they are trying to create a community--you can "volunteer" by attending some of their education nights that include socials, and they have big work parties. Also, if they didn't do it, we would either pay more or the center would have less. (The center is non-profit, and I'm pretty sure that most of the staff already gets paid less than I think they should. I think we pay a small fortune in childcare, but I am realizing that what we want for childcare is just expensive to do.)
blogger / watermelon / 14218 posts
In our old daycare, each room had a monthly donation request. Usually it was lysol wipes and things for crafts (a bag of rice, stickers, paper plates, cotton balls, etc.)
At our new daycare, the only thing they've asked for so far is empty, clean milk jugs, and things like cardboard tubes from toilet paper or paper towels. I'm assuming for some sort of craft.
pomegranate / 3375 posts
Ours asks us to bring in tissues and wipes every other month. They also asked us to contribute things to the school's "garage sale" ... they raised over $1,000, which they used for awesome instruments, and a music teacher to come in once a week.
It doesn't really rub be the wrong way, but I have thought, "Why am I paying $900 a month + a supply fee (once a year) + donating stuff?".
In the end, our school is very small -- maybe 12 kids? The teachers are so kind and generous, and I don't want them to pull from their pockets. I'm truly happy to support the school in any way I can. It's a community we're lucky to be a part of.
persimmon / 1043 posts
I think the wish list for book fair purchases is pretty common, or at least around here. I've seen them in child care centers, preschools, and elem schools. Even when I was a student-teacher, I was encouraged to write a wish list for the book fair by the PTA (and keep the books for myself/future class later)
As far as other donations, though.. No. Our center has an annual "supply" fee for each child and the funds are then pooled for the teachers in that specific classroom to spend throughout the year. I'd be annoyed if they asked for other substantial donations for the classroom, in addition to that!
grapefruit / 4717 posts
Yup! Ours had a wish list at the open house for various classroom things. If they feel the need to ask us for extras, then what does our tuition actually cover??
clementine / 811 posts
Yes, we have lots of donation, volunteer and fundraising options, but to be fair, its a co-op so we have a minimum amount of "hours" we have to fulfil.
pomegranate / 3845 posts
Our old center did a ton of that and it really rubbed me the wrong way.
The new center doesn't, but I felt like LO needed an extra snack between snack at 2:30 and pick up at 5:30 or later so I bring in veggie straws.
The teacher shares them with the class and it's been so wonderful for everyone. The kids are so much happier at pick up time and there's less drama (we were seeing hitting, biting, etc. during that last half hour). So I buy a $3 bag of veggie straws every week and "donate" it to the class lol
apricot / 443 posts
I used to work at a children's book store and quite a few of the elementary schools or preschools would have these fundraisers at our store. Each class teacher would have a list of books they wanted and parents would buy books and add them to each teacher's basket, and at the end of the fundraiser the store would donate 10% of the profits to the school (and usually the teachers would spend the money on the rest of the books they wanted for the class). So it wasn't mandatory or anything and you didn't have to buy what the teachers wanted but they were always very well attended events.
And when my sister was in school we would regularly get requests for things like tissues and pencils.
persimmon / 1436 posts
No, and it would likely rub me the wrong way given that she attends a preschool that is quite pricey for the area. We love it though!
grapefruit / 4085 posts
We had a book fair at preschool and there was a request list for the class.
I had no problem with it - it wasn't a mandatory requirement and I thought of it as a nice gesture. We also had a pie sale fundraiser - also had no problem ordering some of those
pineapple / 12566 posts
We are never asked for financial contributions other than tuition.
The only time money is involved is when the school hosts a party that includes parents (holiday party, summer party). They charge for food and drinks, but it's restaurant style and they provide a menu so you pay for what you consume.
kiwi / 549 posts
DS preschool is very affordable, but they ask for donations & fundraise a lot, in addition to required volunteer hours (and from what I found, the 20 hours/year requirement is low for our area. Some preschools-- not co-ops even-- require 40 or more volunteer hours & charge up to $25K/year!). So I'm ok with the extra emphasis on donations. I would actually love it if the teacher created a classroom book wish list. Parents traditionally donate a book to the class on their child's birthday, but I'm at a loss for choosing a book to donate this year. I have no way of avoiding a potential duplicate.
grapefruit / 4819 posts
We go to a co-op type preschool so they're always looking for volunteers to help out or everyday essentials to be donated to the classroom. There's a note on the door saying what they need, and it's also mentioned in the monthly newsletter. Preschool is free here though so I certainly don't begrudge buying random things here and there or volunteering my time. I'm the chairperson of the preschool committee actually so I'm donating a lot of my time, effort, and resources to the successful running of the school!
bananas / 9227 posts
Never, but they have asked to have a bush dug out. They invited everyone for a picnic and the plan was to do a little yard work. DH was interested until he realized all the kids would also be there and the thought of it stressed him out
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